By IINA,
New Delhi : Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad will visit India toward the end of this month. The announcement was made yesterday by National Security Adviser M.K. Narayanan during a discussion at International Institute of Strategic Studies-Citi India Global Forum. Ahmadinejad will visit India on his way to Sri Lanka. The visit will take place at a time when Iran is facing UN sanctions and isolation from several countries. India has always advocated diplomacy toward Iran. “In dealing with Iran, we are better poised and better placed than anyone else, but we do not necessarily have to be part of a compact of certain countries,” Narayanan said.
Citing caution exercised by India in not getting involved into “conflict diplomacy,” Narayanan appealed to the international community: “Please do not treat Iran like any other nation. It is a big country, it is a major country with tremendous influence. You need to deal with it diplomatically.” Ahmadinejad’s two-day state visit to Colombo begins April 28. While in Colombo, the Iranian president will launch a hydropower project in Wellawaya in Monaragala district and sign an agreement for modernizing the Sapugaskanda oil refinery.
This would be Ahmadinejad’s first visit to India. The last Iranian president to visit India was Mohammad Khatami when he was the chief guest at the Republic Day parade in 2003. The last Indian prime minister to visit Teheran was Atal Behari Vajpayee in 2001. While Indian External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee visited Teheran last year in February, Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister Mehdi Safari was here in September and Iranian Minister of Economy and Finance Davoud Danesh Ja’fari came here in January.